Gardner Denver Said to Attract CCMP Capital in Bid Process

Gardner Denver Inc., the maker of
industrial equipment that’s seeking a buyer, attracted interest
from private-equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LLC ahead of a
Feb. 21 bid deadline, said two people familiar with the matter.

CCMP, spun out by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2006, may be
willing to buy all or part of the company, said the people, who
asked not to be named because talks are private. Advent
International Corp., which had been negotiating with Gardner
Denver since November, has grown less interested and may only
consider an offer if the other bids fail, they said.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the adviser to Wayne,
Pennsylvania-based Gardner Denver, has given suitors 10 more
days to make offers, the people said. Gardner Denver, whose
market value exceeds $3 billion, also earlier held talks with
private-equity firms including KKR & Co. and the team of Onex
Corp. and TPG Capital, they said. New York-based KKR remains
interested, while the TPG-Onex team has stepped back and is
monitoring the process, according to two people.

The private-equity firms, which had considered bids of $73
to $75 a share late last year, don’t want to pay more than that
now, the people said. That compares with the $85 a share that
SPX Corp. had planned to bid for Gardner Denver last year before
talks collapsed, people with knowledge of the matter said then.

Gardner Denver sank 2.3 percent to $68.83 as of 4:15 p.m.
in New York.

Gardner Denver makes compressors, pumps and other products
for industries including manufacturing and energy exploration.

An eventual sale would mark a victory for activist investor
ValueAct Capital Management LLC, owner of about 5.1 percent of
Gardner Denver’s stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
as of Sept. 30. The firm began lobbying for a sale in July after
Gardner Denver Chief Executive Officer Barry Pennypacker
resigned.